For Ribault quarterback D.J. Gillins, the road to announcing his commitment has been a long hard one. Finally today Gillins got the moment he so craved as he committed to the Wisconsin Badgers.
Although just one week ago, Gillins told me that Boston College was his leader. So why the sudden change?
“I was talking with family and they asked me what college I was thinking about committing to. I said Arizona, Boston College or Wisconsin. They got so excited because one of my uncles had graduated from Wisconsin so he was telling me about all the nice people and stuff like that. When he told me that I knew I was going to Wisconsin.” said Gillins.
D.J. has yet to visit Wisconsin but plans to take an official visit there in the near future.
Originally D.J. was committed to Texas Tech for just over five-months. Late into spring practice the Badgers came by and offered the dual-threat star. But deciding to decommit was just a small road bump compared to what happened on September 7, 2012 as D.J. Gillins tore his ACL.
“It was scary because I was getting looked at by nearly everybody and now I am thinking that it will only be the smaller schools that will like me. But (Wisconsin) came during the spring and when they saw how I was moving they were surprised.” said Gillins.
Wisconsin saw Gillins three times over the spring and they saw that he was fully recovered and 100% again.
As a player, Gillins is as good as any when he is healthy obviously. He is a true dual-threat and has been timed with a 4.5 laser time. You could insert him into any spread-system and he would be successful with his strong arms and quick feet.
Since transferring from Eagle’s View Academy to nearby Ribault, Gillins has yet to play in a regular season game but is eager to show off for his new school.